Introducing Uniti, our revolutionary new streaming platform.

This revamp of the Uniti line is very impressive, and I am eager to hear them in person.  I don't think this has been covered, but can someone confirm if the Atom can be run into the Naim DAC for streaming purposes?  From the photos and descriptions I have seen, it does not look like there is a digital out.  My dealer believed that the UnitiQute into the Naim DAC was a surprisingly impressive source.  I ask because if you get a Core and plug it into the DAC, you miss out on the new streaming options that the other Uniti products bring to the table.

CEverett posted:

This revamp of the Uniti line is very impressive, and I am eager to hear them in person.  I don't think this has been covered, but can someone confirm if the Atom can be run into the Naim DAC for streaming purposes?  From the photos and descriptions I have seen, it does not look like there is a digital out.  My dealer believed that the UnitiQute into the Naim DAC was a surprisingly impressive source.  I ask because if you get a Core and plug it into the DAC, you miss out on the new streaming options that the other Uniti products bring to the table.

Hi,

There's no S/PDIF out on the Atom...

Phil

Phil - is the multiroom a continuation of the current approach (limited to 320k with a master) or full multi room like in the Naimnet system?

james n posted:

Hi Keith - i would think with a ground up redesign, Naim will have moved the goal posts on with reliability and built on the experience gained with the streamer / server products. The new range seem to have lost the quirkiness of the old and seem a lot more user friendly (just look at the update procedure). Perhaps it's time that Naim published a network setup guide to allow customers to get this part right. A simple robust wired network is not hard to setup (get this bit right before worrying about fancy cables, ditching wall warts etc) and a guide with a few examples of how various setups can look would be very useful and help customers get the best from their investment. 

Personally i think the new range look fantastic and i wish Naim every success with it. 

James

 

+ 1 Thoughtful comment. Couldn't agree more.

Wazza69 posted:

Phil - is the multiroom a continuation of the current approach (limited to 320k with a master) or full multi room like in the Naimnet system?

The current multiroom functionality on the new range is the same as with the existing range to maintain compatibility and interoperability with the existing platform.

Phil

John Bailey posted:

jon honeyball posted:

Also "t’s quite understandable that technology moves on and becomes obsolete but IMHO customers have good reason to expect a degree of ongoing development to protect their investment and keep their units reasonably contemporary within a few years of purchase – particularly at the prices Naim charge."

No, we dont. If some new whizzy streaming service came out tomorrow, we have no right to expect support for it on HDX or UQ. None. 

Well with respect, and to a certain degree, we shall have to agree to disagree on that one. 

 

 

Rights are quite simple - ir has to be fit for purpose, or in other words it has to do what the manufacturer says it will do, and not conk out soon after buying. 

Support beyond that is not a right - but a decent company that thrives on a happy customer base will ofter do far more, as Naim do with firmware updates often bringing improvements not just fixing faults, and by being there at the end of a phone line to give other assistance etc.

for me, I consider it a poor show if a piece of electronic equipment lasts less than 10 years, therafter though disappointed I tend not to be surprised if physically stressed items like CD players, and possibly displays fail. However I expect amps to last a lifetime if not abused (subject to occasional recapping), speakers maybe a little less as some parts can deteriorate and not be replaceable.

Computer-based things are included in my longevity expectation - they should keep working for many years, while accepting that hard disks can and do often fail earlier - but that means working as it did when purchased, not forever being upgradeable. Computers and the software on them - which means things like streamers - are still evolving in performance at a fast rate, and any manufacturer has to move with the times, which includes availability of components ( how often do computer manufacturers upgrade theit specs, or operating system suppliers issue new versions?).

Personally I think it would be nice to get 10 years' worth of updates/improvements, but in reality anything more than 5 is a bonus - as long as it still does what it does thereafter, it isn't 'broke' just because there's a shiny new alternative. 

Innocent Bystander posted:

John Bailey posted:

jon honeyball posted:

Also "t’s quite understandable that technology moves on and becomes obsolete but IMHO customers have good reason to expect a degree of ongoing development to protect their investment and keep their units reasonably contemporary within a few years of purchase – particularly at the prices Naim charge."

No, we dont. If some new whizzy streaming service came out tomorrow, we have no right to expect support for it on HDX or UQ. None. 

Well with respect, and to a certain degree, we shall have to agree to disagree on that one. 

 

 

Rights are quite simple - ir has to be fit for purpose, or in other words it has to do what the manufacturer says it will do, and not conk out soon after buying. 

Support beyond that is not a right - but a decent company that thrives on a happy customer base will ofter do far more, as Naim do with firmware updates often bringing improvements not just fixing faults, and by being there at the end of a phone line to give other assistance etc.

for me, I consider it a poor show if a piece of electronic equipment lasts less than 10 years, therafter though disappointed I tend not to be surprised if physically stressed items like CD players, and possibly displays fail. However I expect amps to last a lifetime if not abused (subject to occasional recapping), speakers maybe a little less as some parts can deteriorate and not be replaceable.

Computer-based things are included in my longevity expectation - they should keep working for many years, while accepting that hard disks can and do often fail earlier - but that means working as it did when purchased, not forever being upgradeable. Computers and the software on them - which means things like streamers - are still evolving in performance at a fast rate, and any manufacturer has to move with the times, which includes availability of components ( how often do computer manufacturers upgrade theit specs, or operating system suppliers issue new versions?).

Personally I think it would be nice to get 10 years' worth of updates/improvements, but in reality anything more than 5 is a bonus - as long as it still does what it does thereafter, it isn't 'broke' just because there's a shiny new alternative. 

IB,

Your expectations align with mine with the exception that the 5 year period - actually I would only expect 2 years for updates and 10 years for support - operates from the date of purchase and not from the date of product introduction.

Someone was asking yesterday about Ogg format ... I don't think the question was answered but from the Naim website "Supports a broad range of music formats including WAV, FLAC, DSD, Apple Lossless, AIFF, AAC, Windows Media-formatted files, Ogg Vorbis and MP3."

Will they make their debut at this RMAF?

If they will be displayed (hopefully not as decoration but properly setup and playing back), I'd like to know first hand impression from those who plan to attend the show.

Phil Harris posted:

CEverett posted:

This revamp of the Uniti line is very impressive, and I am eager to hear them in person.  I don't think this has been covered, but can someone confirm if the Atom can be run into the Naim DAC for streaming purposes?  From the photos and descriptions I have seen, it does not look like there is a digital out.  My dealer believed that the UnitiQute into the Naim DAC was a surprisingly impressive source.  I ask because if you get a Core and plug it into the DAC, you miss out on the new streaming options that the other Uniti products bring to the table.

Hi,

There's no S/PDIF out on the Atom...

Phil

Interesting. If I'm not mistaken, an HDMI socket can be programmed to serve as a digital out...

Jan-Erik Nordoen posted:

Interesting. If I'm not mistaken, an HDMI socket can be programmed to serve as a digital out...

The HDMI on the Uniti's is an input only...

Phil

Probably a question for Phil: Can the Core provide access to its files via smb share? If so, can access to that share also be controlled?

Eloise posted:

Someone was asking yesterday about Ogg format ... I don't think the question was answered but from the Naim website "Supports a broad range of music formats including WAV, FLAC, DSD, Apple Lossless, AIFF, AAC, Windows Media-formatted files, Ogg Vorbis and MP3."

Ah, great! Thank you very much! But where did you find this? I do not see it on the new uniti web pages.

gert posted:

Eloise posted:

Someone was asking yesterday about Ogg format ... I don't think the question was answered but from the Naim website "Supports a broad range of music formats including WAV, FLAC, DSD, Apple Lossless, AIFF, AAC, Windows Media-formatted files, Ogg Vorbis and MP3."

Ah, great! Thank you very much! But where did you find this? I do not see it on the new uniti web pages.

Where there's all the little circular logos one says "File Formats". Click that and it shows the text I pasted above. 

Mark R posted:

Probably a question for Phil: Can the Core provide access to its files via smb share? If so, can access to that share also be controlled?

Yes it can - in a similar(ish) way to the UnitiServe and HDX (the folder structure is slightly different) but the CD Rips are still read only from the network and the Downloads folder is read/write, just as before.

Phil

Phil for gawds sake go home. Or to the pub. The questions can wait till tomorrow. Or Monday ��

A question for Phil (when he returns from da pub)  -

Can Naim ripped files or other downloaded files stored in the Core be exported and used in other non Naim products without losing meatada ?

Jude 

Eloise posted:

Where there's all the little circular logos one says "File Formats". Click that and it shows the text I pasted above. 

Oh, these little icons are clickable?! Nice to know

Jude2012 posted:

A question for Phil (when he returns from da pub)  -

Can Naim ripped files or other downloaded files stored in the Core be exported and used in other non Naim products without losing meatada ?

Jude 

Interesting question in terms of exporting metadata back into the file. I'm going to punt on "no", given this is WAV -- I suspect Naim's metadata capabilities are much richer than what is currently able to be achieved in WAV. Plus, I'm not sure if there is a universal/formalised metadata approach for WAV yet?

For downloaded or "introduced" files to Core/HDX/Serve, does Naim read the metadata and express that back out into their own metadata catalogue as part of the import process?

-Mark

jon honeyball posted:

Phil for gawds sake go home. Or to the pub. The questions can wait till tomorrow. Or Monday ��

I don't have a nice local local like you...

Have a good weekend John...

Phil

tonym posted:

Naim have done their market research well. There are thousands of people out there with large CD collections who are reluctant to take the step into ripped digital files. I can think of at least a dozen folk who this applies to. They have no interest in computers, or are confused by the whelter of options that have sprung up. This is a very elegant, simple route into the technology.

Tony, but to access the devices, it looks like you need a phone or table to put the app on, no controller comes with them ? 

I know a lot of folks in the UK like there Brennan's (my Dad included) that was previously meeting this niche.

Mark R posted:

Jude2012 posted:

A question for Phil (when he returns from da pub)  -

Can Naim ripped files or other downloaded files stored in the Core be exported and used in other non Naim products without losing meatada ?

Jude 

Interesting question in terms of exporting metadata back into the file. I'm going to punt on "no", given this is WAV -- I suspect Naim's metadata capabilities are much richer than what is currently able to be achieved in WAV. Plus, I'm not sure if there is a universal/formalised metadata approach for WAV yet?

For downloaded or "introduced" files to Core/HDX/Serve, does Naim read the metadata and express that back out into their own metadata catalogue as part of the import process?

-Mark

Wav files-  I guess you are right.

Its the other file formats that I'm interested in, in  particular AIFF.

My understanding is that while the Core can rip to Wav or FLAC only, it can store these and other formats that were not ripped by the Core to begin with.

Look forward to Phil's reply.

Jude

Guy007 posted:

 

 

 

I know a lot of folks in the UK like there Brennan's (my Dad included) that was previously meeting this niche.

I had a Brennan JB7 in my home office for a few months but it was the discovery of how rubbish Brennan's 320kbps MP3 files sounded compared with their WAV that set me off on the Naim journey a couple of years back. A very expensive discovery indeed.....

Guy007 posted:

tonym posted:

Naim have done their market research well. There are thousands of people out there with large CD collections who are reluctant to take the step into ripped digital files. I can think of at least a dozen folk who this applies to. They have no interest in computers, or are confused by the whelter of options that have sprung up. This is a very elegant, simple route into the technology.

Tony, but to access the devices, it looks like you need a phone or table to put the app on, no controller comes with them ? 

I know a lot of folks in the UK like there Brennan's (my Dad included) that was previously meeting this niche.

Yes, you get a controller.  For those who don't wish to use a tablet or phone there is a rather nice looking RF remote control that comes with the new Unitis.

Here's a picture from Andrew Everard's blog;

jon honeyball posted:

Also "t’s quite understandable that technology moves on and becomes obsolete but IMHO customers have good reason to expect a degree of ongoing development to protect their investment and keep their units reasonably contemporary within a few years of purchase – particularly at the prices Naim charge."

No, we dont. If some new whizzy streaming service came out tomorrow, we have no right to expect support for it on HDX or UQ. None. 

Frankly, I think that one has the right to expect whatever one likes. One might have unrealistic expectations and end up being disappointed, of course. Or one might expect things that one has no right to obtain. But I fail to see how my right to expect something could be in any way restricted. Perhaps you want to say that the OP has no right to obtain support for a new streaming service on HDX or UQ. That goes without saying. But he certainly has the right to expect that very support. Best, nbpf